


Wallflower

by grahammar_hammer



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 01:50:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11071527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grahammar_hammer/pseuds/grahammar_hammer





	Wallflower

Will paced, feeling the way Hannibal's eyes tracked him each time he neared the the front door.

 

"I'm not going anywhere," Will spit. "Where would I go?"

 

"You have choices, Will," Hannibal told him calmly. "Return home. Take a page from Bedelia's book."

 

"And say I was kidnapped, drugged and manipulated?" Will scoffed. "Jack would never buy that. He'd toss me back into a cell to try and save his own ass."

 

"You could run on your own," Hannibal suggested.

 

Will snorted. "With what means? I have nothing."

 

"I would give you the means, were you to ask."

 

Will laughed bitterly. "You'd really just let me go?"

 

"Had I wanted your company against your will, I could have had that long ago. I prefer that you choose to stay, but I will not hold you here."

 

Will sighed. "Stay with you, or return to darkness, alone."

 

"The darkness is only part of who you are. Now that you are no longer repressing it, you will be able to choose when to access it. The darkness is under your power, Will, not the other way around."

 

Will paused, reflecting upon the truth of that statement. Hannibal had absolute control of his own darkness, which was what made him so dangerous. Were Will to leave, Hannibal would be free to exercise this control out in the world once again, a thought that both terrified and excited Will in equal measure. The terror won, and he flung the front door open and stepped out onto the patio, his hands trembling as he fought to catch his breath. For a moment, he could see slick black blood clinging to him in the moonlight, and was overwhelmed by an intoxicating rush of adrenaline. His pulse spiked, and the trembling intensified then ceased altogether. He closed his eyes, feeling Hannibal standing beside him, and he knew, despite everything, he did not want to be alone.

 

"If I stay," Will said calmly. "There will be conditions."

 

"I thought as much," Hannibal conceded.

 

Will turned and met Hannibal's eyes.

 

"I want you to agree to my terms, no matter what they are."

 

Hannibal's jaw tightened, and he narrowed his eyes in warning. "Within reason. I will not return to a cage. Nor will I harm myself in any way."

 

"I want you to stop killing," Will said firmly.

 

"I said I would not be caged, Will, and you're asking to be my jailer. Why would I agree to that?" Hannibal snarled.

 

"Because you don't want to be alone either," Will answered calmly.

 

Hannibal sneered. "More manipulations, Will? I've given you your autonomy, yet you would have me sacrifice my own."

 

"If you want to maintain your freedom in the world, you will have to sacrifice something, Hannibal."

 

"At the moment, Will, I'm amenable to that sacrifice being you," Hannibal replied, low and cold.

 

"If you recall, I was very open to that possibility. Now that I've survived, I've had time to re-evaluate my options."

 

Hannibal growled and lunged at him, and Will relaxed into the hand around his throat, his eyes never leaving Hannibal's face.

 

"If you keep killing, you will be caught again," Will said evenly. "What's more preferable? Prison bars or the assurance of my company? I never said I would keep the cage locked forever."

 

Hannibal's eyes slowly softened as he took in Will's meaning, and the hand on Will's throat became a caress. "What a cunning boy you are, Will. I'll agree to your terms, but I fell I must remind you...There are limits to my patience. Keep the door locked for too long, and my darkness may find an outlet in you."

 

"I've considered that, and maybe that's just fine," Will whispered.

 

"And what of your own darkness, Will?" Hannibal purred. "How will you slake its inevitable hunger?"

 

Will stepped into Hannibal's space, placed his hands on Hannibal's shoulders and gave a minute squeeze. "You'll help me feed it."

 

Hannibal's pupils flared and he growled, not in malice, but appreciation.

 

"The opportunity to dance with you again in the moonlight is one you know I cannot refuse. Tell me, Will, what excites you more: the dance itself, or knowing I am against the wall waiting for you to ask?"


End file.
